Smoke shop employees arrested and kratom packages seized after two Ole Miss student deaths
Por Jasmine Fernández — – World RSS Feed
Smoke shop employees arrested and kratom packages seized after two Ole Miss student deaths
Amer Alowdi, who owns the Oxford store where 500 units of kratom were seized, had already fled US, authorities said
Jasmine Fernández in Portland, Oregon Saturday 26 September 2026 13:00 EDT
- Bookmark
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks
Close popover
Become an Independent member to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.
Already a member?
Log in
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
Two smoke shop employees have been arrested on felony drug charges following a police raid near the University of Mississippi, days after two students were found dead in separate incidents with packages of kratom found at the scenes.
Officers seized more than 500 units of kratom, THC cartridges, gummies and other suspected narcotics during a raid on Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store, roughly a mile from the Ole Miss campus.
Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18, from Oxford, were booked for possession of Schedule I controlled substances with intent to distribute. Authorities noted that the store’s owner, 40-year-old Amer Alowdi, fled the country after being indicted for narcotics trafficking in 2022.
Freshman Aidan Hamilton, 18, and junior Robert Strang, 20, were both found dead Monday. Though officials have not confirmed a direct link between the shop and the fatalities, the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit previously disclosed that “packaged Kratom sold from a retail store” was discovered at both scenes.
Strang, a Phi Delta Theta fraternity member from Atlanta, Georgia, was found at an off-campus home, student newspaperThe Daily Mississippian reported. Hamilton, from Colorado, was reportedly discovered at a male dormitory on campus. Emergency services responded to a “possible OD” at a dorm on the day the bodies were discovered, according to a Lafayette County dispatch recording obtained by WMC Action 5 News.
open image in gallery
open image in gallery“They do not believe the subject is breathing — trying to start CPR over the phone,” a voice said on the recording. “I believe they’re still trying to get somebody in the dorms to do, or in the building to do CPR.”
Investigators are awaiting expedited toxicology results to determine what caused the students’ deaths and what substances were involved.
The narcotics unit stated that it did “not have confirmed information indicating that kratom or any other substance was a contributing factor in either death.”
A representative from the American Kratom Association, an advocacy group representing the industry, told Fox News that bad actors often deceptively market illicit or chemically modified products under the guise of natural kratom. He expressed condolences to the families and the Ole Miss community while cautioning against attributing the fatalities to any specific product before official toxicology results were finalized.
open image in gallery
open image in gallery“We’re not defending a product involved in these deaths because no one yet knows what that product, if any, caused them,” the representative, Mac Haddow, said.
Kratom, an opioid-like substance, is legal in parts of Mississippi but remains restricted within Lafayette County, where Ole Miss is located.
The Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit said that “Kratom has been prohibited from possession, distribution, and sale within the City of Oxford since 2019.”
The investigation is ongoing and more arrests could follow, according to officials.
“Our message is direct: if you choose to illegally sell these substances in our community, expect law enforcement to come looking for you,” investigators said Friday. “We will investigate. We will obtain warrants.
“We will seize illegal products, and we will hold those responsible accountable. This investigation does not end with these arrests. These individuals and this business are not necessarily the only people involved in the illegal distribution of these products, and they should not expect to be the last arrests made as our enforcement efforts continue.”
Police have urged the public to “avoid kratom and any other medication or substance that was not prescribed to you or obtained from a trusted, regulated source.”
More about
University of MississippiOle MissKratomarrests
Most popular
Popular videos
Bulletin
Read next
Fonte: – World RSS Feed
